Huawei has informed Chinese partners: starting July 1, 2026, all device categories from the brand will become more expensive. The official explanation is pressure on the global semiconductor market and rising costs of memory modules and storage drives. But behind the standard corporate formulation lies a specific mechanism that is changing pricing across the entire industry.
Memory makers bet on AI — and ordinary electronics pay for it
Samsung and SK Hynix are redirecting up to 40% of their advanced manufacturing capacity to producing High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) — specialized memory for AI accelerators. HBM delivers higher margins than conventional DRAM, so manufacturers are systematically reducing memory supply for smartphones and laptops.
The result is a projected shortage and price rally. According to TrendForce, Samsung and SK Hynix have already raised list prices for HBM3E by approximately 20% for 2026 contracts. Analysts at Counterpoint Research forecast that DRAM prices will rise another 40–50% in the first half of 2026. SK Hynix stated in fall 2025 that capacity for HBM, DRAM, and NAND is "essentially sold out" for all of 2026.
"Memory demand is strong due to ongoing AI investments. HBM requires higher pricing compared to traditional memory, forcing suppliers to reallocate manufacturing capacity".
Kanishka Chauhan, Senior Analyst at Gartner
The Huawei paradox: a company that is both the source of demand and its victim
Huawei, through its subsidiary HiSilicon, develops Ascend series AI chips and has already raised their prices due to growing demand for Chinese computing power for artificial intelligence. The company announced the release of a new Ascend generation annually with doubled computing power — and it itself is creating the demand for HBM components that is now putting pressure on smartphone and laptop component costs.
So Huawei is simultaneously a player driving AI demand for memory and a consumer electronics manufacturer whose own production costs are rising due to that same demand. For partners and end buyers, the difference between these two roles is invisible — they simply see new prices starting in July.
Scale: not just Huawei
Price increases will affect not just the Chinese market. Samsung already raised prices for DDR5 32 GB modules from $149 to $239 in September 2025 — that's 60%. Contract prices for DDR5 have more than doubled over a year. Forecasts suggest that by the end of 2026, server modules DDR5 64 GB will cost twice as much as at the beginning of 2025.
- HBM production consumes approximately three times more wafer capacity than conventional DRAM.
- Micron has completely exited the consumer memory segment, focusing on enterprise and AI clients.
- Google and Amazon are increasing HBM3E purchases for their own AI accelerators in 2026, further tightening supply.
Huawei has not announced specific price increase percentages for each category — only confirmed that adjustments will depend on device type and configuration. For consumers, this means uncertainty until new price lists appear.
If memory makers continue prioritizing HBM over traditional DRAM, and demand from AI infrastructure doesn't slow down — Huawei's price increase will become not an exception, but the first publicly announced wave in the industry. The question is who announces next: Samsung Mobile, Xiaomi, or someone from the European market.
